KEEPING FIT : Ways to Deal With Holiday Temptations
‘Tis the season when fitness rules are most likely to be broken.
Santa Claus may be watching to make sure you’re nice instead of naughty, but hey, look at him: The guy’s never set foot on a stair climber in his life. And his cholesterol level’s probably high enough to climb right up the chimney.
So go ahead, have a piece of Aunt Martha’s apple cake. That sort of thing isn’t exactly part of your diet anymore, but it’s a holiday tradition. You wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings, and besides, it’s always been your favorite.
What can it hurt, just this once?
By itself, one little slice of holiday indulgence probably won’t do any harm at all. But add it to five weeks’ worth of “just this once,” from the first slice of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving to the last toast of New Year’s champagne, and your fitness program could become a casualty of the season’s festivities.
And even if you find yourself constantly on the run during December, you probably won’t be burning off those extra calories nearly as fast as you might hope. Even at its worst--carrying armloads of packages out to the nether regions of the parking lot at the mall or elbowing your way through the crowd at the discount store--holiday shopping does not qualify as aerobic exercise.
Still, no-shows and cancellations are rampant this time of year in aerobics classes and other exercise programs, say Orange County fitness experts. That’s OK, they’re used to it. Besides, they know their clients will be back with renewed motivation when it’s time to live up to those New Year’s resolutions.
“I close my studio between the 23rd of December and the 2nd of January,” says personal trainer Lou Gaudio of Dana Point. “Nobody comes anyway, so why make people feel even more guilty?” That week, he says, is always dead at fitness facilities.
Rather than hound his clients to maintain their discipline during the holidays, Gaudio says he prefers to offer what support he can to help them deal with the temptations.
“My job is not to frustrate you. My job is to get you in shape,” he says.
And fitness enthusiasts do get frustrated this time of year, he says. “People don’t want to accept the fact that they have less time available for workouts because of all the social commitments. They feel so guilty for missing a workout that they may stop working out altogether.”
Instead, he advises clients not only to accept their lapses, but prepare for them. “If you know you’re not going to be able to train, you can make a better time of it by just accepting it,” he says. “Party, overindulge, and then on Jan. 2, start back into your program. Start off slowly, don’t get frustrated, and don’t worry about it.”
But if you can squeeze even a limited workout schedule into that crowded holiday calendar, Gaudio says that’s preferable.
“Any time you have a good habit, you shouldn’t try to put it aside totally. The harm of giving it up would probably be more mental than physical, but the mental part is important,” he says.
“So if you usually work out four times a week, maybe you’ll only do it two times a week during the holidays. But that’s still better than no times a week,” Gaudio says.
If a scheduled workout does conflict with a holiday happening, Gaudio says you should never beg off by saying, “I have to go to the gym.”
“You’ll NEVER get a positive response to that,” he says. “Tell them you have a business meeting, or a dentist’s appointment, or something. They’ll be more likely to accept that. You have to lie so you can go have your time away from the rest of the world and get your workout in.”
Gaudio also recommends milder forms of deception for fending off fatty, sugary and other high-calorie foods at office parties, family get-togethers and other seasonal events.
“One thing you don’t want to do is annoy everybody else. I’ve seen this happen with people who are really on the high end of training. They’re guests at people’s homes, and they’re offered food, and they’re absolutely adamant: ‘No! I don’t eat that!’ ”
“Don’t ever do that,” Gaudio says. “Go ahead and put it on your plate, but don’t eat it. Just cut it up and push it around the plate. You don’t have to bring attention to yourself. Just don’t eat it. That way you don’t turn it into a confrontation.”
Dr. Marshall Stamper, a weight-loss specialist for 20 years and founder of the Lindora Medical clinics in Orange County and elsewhere, agrees.
“If Aunt So-and-so offers you a piece of the cake that used to be your favorite, tell her, ‘It’s so nice that you thought of me.’ Take it. Play with it. But do you eat it? No. Tell her how good it is. And if she wonders why you haven’t eaten it, then tell her that you’re on a diet.”
Chances are, say Stamper and Gaudio, your aunt probably won’t even notice you’re not eating.
It helps to mentally rehearse holiday eating events beforehand, Stamper says. “See yourself walking into the room, and going up to the table with your plate, and eating only the right kind of food. Go through that scene with your aunt in your mind before it happens. You’ll have a lot more confidence when it does.”
If you do eat, Stamper recommends eating very slowly. Not only will that discourage hosts from piling more on your plate, but it will also allow you to stop when you’re full. “It takes 20 minutes to turn off the ‘set point’ that controls your appetite, so if you eat rapidly, you can just keep going after you’ve already had enough.”
Gaudio says that if you do eat foods that are off-limits the rest of the year, make a point of keeping the portions small. “Just taste them rather than eating them.”
At cocktail parties, get a glass of water or herbal tea in your hand as quickly as possible, Stamper says. That way you can ward off hosts proffering alcoholic drinks, which not only are high in calories but also may soften your resolve.
If you do drink alcohol, Gaudio recommends matching all wine, beer or mixed drinks with an equal amount of water. “Not only is that a way to regulate what you’re drinking, but it keeps you from getting dehydrated. And the dehydration is what causes the headache the next morning.”